This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility going back to 1950. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

Why Historical Insurance Policies May Be Accessible

Pre-1986 Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies were occurrence-based and did not contain an effective pollution exclusion in Washington. If contamination occurred while those policies were active, those historical insurance carriers may still have a legal obligation to fund the cleanup costs, even if the business closed or the property changed hands.

Dry cleaning at this Yakima property began in the 1950s, placing decades of PCE and Stoddard solvent use squarely in the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies had no effective pollution exclusion. The underground storage tanks that held Stoddard solvent were in use by 1971 at the latest, and the contamination documented in soil and groundwater at the site is a direct product of those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to Nu-Way during that operational window may be obligated to recover the documented remediation costs — tank and sump removals, soil excavation, solvent disposal — as well as to fund the ongoing monitoring the site still requires.

Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.